PI SCOOP … JUSTIN DALY BOLTS FROM OGILVY TO START OWN FIRM:Ogilvy Government Relations Senior Vice President Justin Daly has left the firm to start one of his own, PI has learned. Daly, who departed Tuesday, could not immediately be reached for comment. But Ogilvy spokesman Drew Maloney confirmed the departure. “He, like many people in the business, got the entrepreneurial itch and decided to hang a shingle,” Maloney said of Daly, who joined the firm in February 2010. “We wish him all the best.” PI sources say Daly, whose expertise lies in financial services matters, took several clients with him. Prior to joining Ogilvy, he worked as a legal and policy adviser at the Securities and Exchange Commission and served as chief securities counsel to the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee both.

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DEVELOPING … TOP VOTING ASSISTANCE OFFICIAL TO JOIN ABRAHAM & ROETZEL?Bob Carey, director of the Department ofDefense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program, is preparing to leave his post and join bipartisan government affairs firm Abraham & Roetzel as a top executive, two sources familiar with the situation tell PI. Carey will likely leave in June, the sources say. Carey has served as Federal Voting Assistance Program director since June 2009, and prior to that, he worked as executive director of the National Defense Committee, a grass-roots military advocacy organization. He also previously worked in a variety of congressional staffer and executive branch roles and ran Empire-Capitol Strategies, a strategic planning and policy development consulting firm, according to his official bio. Officials from the Federal Voting Assistance Program and Abraham & Roetzel did not respond today to PI’s inquiries.

ANALYSIS … LOBBY FIRMS’ PACS TAKING VARIETY OF SPENDING TACKS: Some are spending big. Others are bolstering their cash reserve. More yet are largely holding pat. That’s the motley story of the nation’s largest lobbying firm-run political action committees as they gear up for the 2012 elections, according to a PI analysis of federal campaign finance records. At the end of March, not quite half — eight out of 20 — of the largest lobbying firms’ PACs reported more cash on hand than they had upon filing their previous report.

For some, the increase was significant. Alston & Bird’s PAC, for example, saw its cash reserve jump from $85,455 at the end of December to $116,014 at the end of March, its reports show. Holland & Knight’s PAC increased its stash from $20,396 to $33,654 during the same period. (Both PACs file their disclosure reports quarterly, whereas many others file monthly.) Also seeing modest bottom-line increases: Patton Boggs, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Williams & Jenson and Covington & Burling.

On the other end of the spectrum? Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s PAC, which spent $72,663 in March alone, donating cash to about 30 different political candidates and committees of all stripes, from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The PACs of Hogan Lovells, Greenberg Traurig, Ernst & Young and DLA Piper burned through solid amounts of cash in March, federal reports indicate.

A combative Friday to you, PI faithful, as 35 years ago today, one of the most notable presidential interviews in U.S. history hit television airwaves: that of former President Richard Nixon by British journalist David Frost. This first of four episodes attracted about 45 million viewers and so lives on in political lore that it inspired a play as well as a feature film, " Frost/Nixon," which hit theaters in 2008 and was nominated for five Academy Awards.

Have a great weekend, thank you for readin’ our writing’, and now, back to the day’s top influence industry news …

PI’S WEEKLY STORM-THE-HILL ADVERTISING INDEX: Broadcast it from all corners: D.C.-area news radio station WTOP-FM 103.5 is the winner of this week’s PI Storm-the-Hill Advertising Index, in which we track the pitches placed in the print editions of D.C.'s daily political papers — Roll Call, The Hill and POLITICO. Five full-page ads was good enough for WTOP to capture the crown, as Roll Call and The Hill produced a limited press run because of this week’s congressional break. Investment bank Goldman Sachs placed second with three full-pagers, and the Coalition for American Jobs grabbed third by virtue of two full-page ads plus a small front-page spot in Tuesday’s edition of The Hill.

Seven other companies and special interests also placed a pair of full-page ads this week: oil company Chevron, UnitedHealthcare, aviation company Boeing, defense contractor Northrop Grumman, liberal political group MoveOn.org, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and ProductsandPower.org.

HOSPITAL FEDERATION TAPS NEW POLITICAL DIRECTOR: The Federation of American Hospitals has named veteran influence industry pro Leah Cohen as its new director of political and public affairs. Cohen will lead the federation’s grass-roots and social media efforts and administer its political action committee, FedPAC. Cohen has previously worked for the National Association of Real Estate Investments Trusts, the National Association of Realtors, ex-Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas), Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and the Democratic Leadership Council. “Leah is highly qualified for this position based on her years of trade association experience and her work on Capitol Hill,” federation President Chip Kahn said in a statement. She replaces Alex Mullineaux, who now works for a North Carolina-based hospital system.

TROUBLE MOUNTS IN CONGRESS FOR PODESTA CLIENT ACCRETIVE: Chicago-based health care debt collection agency Accretive Health is beginning to feel the heat form Democratic lawmakers in Congress after reports that the company has denied care to patients unless they pay their outstanding bills at a Minnesota hospital. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) has asked the company for its client list and information about the company’s compliance with federal laws that mandate that all emergency room patients be treated, regardless of whether they are able to pay their bill. And in a letter to company CEO Mary Tolan, Democratic lawmakers including Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) have questioned how widespread Accretive’s practices might be. Accretive signed Heather Podesta and Partners in March, in the agency’s first foray in to Washington lobbying. In the first quarter of 2012, Accretive spent $50,000 to retain Podesta, Eric Rosen, and Benjamin Klein, Senate documents show.

COMMUNICATIONS GROWTH FOR ETHANOL LOBBY:Growth Energy has tapped Michael Frohlich to be its new spokesman and press secretary. Frohlich is a former strategic partner at Madison Government Affairs and director of media relations for the National Association of Manufacturers. The ethanol lobby will also add Michael Lewan as a public affairs associate, to its Washington, D.C., communications team.

CINCO DE MAYO COMES LATE FOR SANCHEZ: Cinco de Mayo is coming a few days late for Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.). Sanchez is hosting a Siete de Mayo barbeque for the celebration of Mexican heritage with a Washington fundraiser at 5 p.m. Monday. The event will feature cooking from Mexican chef Maria Macias. Macias also happens to be the mother of Linda Macias, chief of staff to Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.). To attend and snag some delicious food, PACs are being asked $1,000, co-hosts $2,500 and chairs ($5,000).

MIKE SIMPSON WANTS YOU FOR LUNCH: The Capitol Hill Club plays host to a $500 per person fundraiser at noon Monday for Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). Political action committees are asked to fork over $1,000. See the invite here: http://bit.ly/IJfnrk

WOMEN’S GROUPS SLAM GOP ON ANTI-VIOLENCE BILL: Homophobic. Anti-victim. Racist. Elitist. That’s what some of the nation’s most prominent women’s groups think of the House Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act, and they’re pushing Congress on it. Jake Sherman and Anna have the story: http://politi.co/INABkf

-- With the Kentucky Derby happening this weekend, the Sunlight Foundation’s Bill Allison notes that “the real money … isn’t in the purse or the pari-mutuel, but in the politics.” http://bit.ly/IJIB8k

-- Some lobbyists are bent on remaking the industry’s image, writes Eric Lichtblau of The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/IAvRQf

-- Jack Abramoff has taken his lobbying reform/image rehabilitation tour to Texas, reports Ken Herman of the Austin American-Statesman: http://bit.ly/IAwHMX

-- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is lashing out at super PACs, writes Michael Gormley of The Associated Press: http://buswk.co/IOivC4

DAILY FUNNY:The Colbert Report goes on the hunt for the elusive Floridian Josue Larose, creator of dozens and dozens of super PACs that he does nothing with: http://bit.ly/IriWxC

Ultimately, the Colbert Report didn’t find Larose. But PI almost certainly did! Although he wouldn’t identify himself, we believe we spoke directly to Larose by phone in March after the FEC administratively terminated his super PACs because of inactivity. Check it out: http://politi.co/KkGIQO

About The Author

Anna Palmer is a senior Washington correspondent for POLITICO and co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook, the most indispensable morning newsletter for the biggest influencers in politics.

Anna covers the world of Congress and politics, and has successfully chronicled the business of Washington insiders for years. Her stories take readers behind the scenes for the biggest fights in Washington as well as the 2016 election.

Prior to becoming POLITICO’s senior Washington correspondent, Anna was the co-author of the daily newsletter, POLITICO Influence, considered a must-read on K Street.

Anna previously covered House leadership and lobbying as a staff writer for Roll Call. She got her start in Washington journalism as a lobbying business reporter for the industry newsletter Influence. She has also worked at Legal Times, where she covered the intersection of money and politics for the legal and lobbying industry, first as a staff writer and then as an editor.

A native of North Dakota, Anna is a graduate of St. Olaf College, where she was executive editor of the weekly campus newspaper, the Manitou Messenger. She lives in Washington, D.C.

About The Author

Dave Levinthal reports on political influence issues for POLITICO. Before joining POLITICO, Dave worked for two years as editor of OpenSecrets.org at the Center for Responsive Politics, where he oversaw the Center's original journalism and provided analysis to hundreds of television, radio and print news outlets.

Between 2003 and 2009, Dave reported on Dallas City Hall for The Dallas Morning News, and from 2000 to 2002, covered the New Hampshire Statehouse for the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in newspaper journalism and political philosophy and edited The Daily Orange.

Some may argue, but there is no more dedicated Bills fan than this Buffalo, N.Y., native.